Municipal Councils Will Have New Faces

MIDDLSEX COUNTY – Perth Amboy will have three new City Council members. Voters elected board of education president Ken Gonzalez, former volunteer fire chief William Petrick and former school board member Joel Pabon from a field of eight in yesterday’s non-partisan municipal elections.

The new council members will replace Peter Jimenez, Geri Bolanowski and Bob Sottilaro, who retired after serving a combined 48 years on the governing body.

According to unofficial vote totals from the Middlesex County Clerk’s office, Pabon was the leading vote getter, with 1,269. Gonzalez received 1,122, Petrick, 1,096, Garcia, 1,083, Cardona, 1,075,Dominguez-Rodriguez 1,007, McCoy 758 and Piatkowski 643.

The totals do not include absentee and provisional ballots, which will be counted later today.

In Spotswood, volunteer fire chief Nicholas Poliseno was the leading vote-getter in a field of four, ousting Councilman Charles Spicuzzo. Council President Curtis Stollen and Councilwoman Margaret Drozd were re-elected. Poliseno drew 585 votes, Stollen 558, Drozd 557, and Spicuzzo 534, according to unofficial counts available this morning.

This will be the last time that Spotswood holds non-partisan elections in May for the foreseeable future. The borough has approved a plan to hold the election in conjunction with the state and federal elections in November beginning in 2012. The move is anticipated to save approximately $25,000 and increase voter turnout.